Bulgaria's national men's basketball team kept its chances of qualifying for the round of 16 of EuroBasket 2022 after beating the host of the tournament Georgia 92:80 in its fourth game of the competition. Rosen Barchovski's men lost their first three matches against favorites Spain, Turkey and Montenegro, but showed class and character last night to defeat the Georgians.

The hosts started the better at Arena Tbilisi and led by eight points shortly into the second half, but the “Lions” leveled the game and made a strong run to pull a point ahead at the break. In the third quarter, Alexander Vezenkov and company punished the opponent with 27:19 to ensure a comfortable lead, which they did not lose in the last part and reached a very valuable success, the first for the team at the European Championship in 11 years.

The Bulgarian team severely punished its opponent from the triple, stringing as many as 19 triples. Playmaker Dee Bost, who was far from his best in the first three games of the contest, was at his best tonight, making nine shots from long range on 13 attempts and finishing with 33 points, 12 assists and 4 rebounds. Alexander Vezenkov was at his usual level and scored 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Pavlin Ivanov was very strong with 17 points (5 triples).

After this game, Bulgaria and Georgia already one win and three losses in Group A, and on Wednesday the national team face Belgium and with another success they can overcome the group stage, which is the big goal for the team. The match with Belgium starts at 17:15 p.m.

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/BNR